A woman attempted to burn down the birth home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta on Thursday but was stopped by several bystanders after pouring gasoline on the historic property, police said.

Laneisha Shantrice Henderson, 26, was arrested and charged with second-degree arson and interfering with government property following the scare just before 6 p.m., police said.

Two people visiting from Utah interrupted the woman as she poured gasoline on the home’s front porch. She was physically detained by two off-duty police officers, who were visiting from New York, until local police arrived, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told reporters.

“Their quick action saved the jewel of our city, something very important to Atlanta,” Schierbaum said.

Video obtained by local station WSB-TV appears to show the woman dressed in all black splashing a liquid from a red canister on the home’s front windows and porch. She appears to wave her hand away at people who ask what she’s doing.

Zach Kempf, who identified himself to The New York Times as one of the people who helped stop her and called police, described the woman as having a “nervous energy” to her, but said “she wasn’t aggressive.”

The woman tried to walk away after he and others stopped her from grabbing a lighter that she had left in the grass, Kempf added.

Shortly after she was physically restrained and police arrived, Kempf said an older man who looked “very distraught” appeared with three women. They identified themselves as the suspect’s father and sisters and said they had been looking for her and using the woman’s location signal from her phone to track her. They said she is a veteran who was experiencing mental distress.

The landmark nonprofit King Center, whose campus is located less than a block from the home, expressed gratitude to those who helped prevent disaster.

“Our prayers are with the individual who allegedly committed this criminal act,” the center said in a statement.

The civil rights leader and his two siblings were all born in the home, which was built in 1895. He lived the first 12 years of his life at the house, which stayed in the family and was used as a rental property for years after, according to the National Park Service, which today owns and maintains the property.

Last month, the National Park Service announced that tours were suspended at the home until late 2025 to allow for renovations.